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Season 3
Season 3 of Miami Vice premiered on September 26, 1986 on NBC with the season premiere "When Irish Eyes Are Crying". The third season concluded on May 8, 1987 after 24 episodes with the season finale "Heroes Of The Revolution". Regular Cast *Don Johnson as Metro-Dade Detective James "Sonny" Crockett *Philip Michael Thomas as Metro-Dade Detective Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs *Saundra Santiago as Metro-Dade Detective Gina Calabrese *Michael Talbott as Metro-Dade Detective Stan Switek *John Diehl as Metro-Dade Detective Larry Zito (12 episodes) *Olivia Brown as Metro-Dade Detective Trudy Joplin *Edward James Olmos as Metro-Dade Lieutenant Martin "Marty" Castillo *Martin Ferrero as Isadore "Izzy" Moreno (7 episodes) Changes and Notes *More so than at any other point in the series, notable changes to the show's format occur at the beginning of the third season, including: ** The Miami Vice logo is illuminated in ice blue instead of pink. The pink lettering of the word "Vice" is also changed to purple. ** Dick Wolf takes over from Michael Mann as line producer, and the storylines reflect his "ripped from the headlines" style, made famous a few years later with Law & Order. ** The storylines, along with the general tones of the show, also become grittier and nihilistic; more episodes end abruptly after a violent climax that leaves numerous people dead, both good as bad alike. ** The pastel clothing is largely eschewed in favour of dark greens, yellows, and blues, a move severely criticised by fans at the time. ** Tubbs' hair becomes short, whilst Crockett's becomes shorter and spiked in appearance. ** Further to the fashion changes, Crockett relinquishes his beloved Ray-Ban Wayfarers for Persol 69218s. These will last only through this season. ** Crockett's sidearm from Seasons 1 and 2, the Dornaus & Dixon Bren Ten 10mm is gone. He now uses a .45-caliber Smith & Wesson 645. ** Crockett's car changes to the Ferrari Testarossa in "Stone's War" (although his Daytona, which is destroyed in the premiere "When Irish Eyes Are Crying", reappears mysteriously in "El Viejo", indicating the studio switched the running order of the episodes). ** Appearances of Elvis, Crockett's pet alligator, are gradually phased out this season and he will only be mentioned in passing from now on (except for a picture in Season 4's "Love at First Sight", and briefly during the closing montage of Season 5's "Freefall"). What happens to Elvis is never explained. ** Smoking among the characters (especially Crockett) is gradually phased out. ** The music used in episodes shifts from popular, light fare to include grittier rock, electronic and new wave (e.g. Depeche Mode, Billy Idol, The Damned, Yello). * The series' time slot is changed to Fridays at 9:00pm, directly competing with CBS' Dallas, which causes ratings for both shows to drop. The third season year end rating was #22. * Larry Zito dies in "Down For The Count (Part I)", and is not replaced. As such, Stan Switek becomes a more focused supporting character, particularly in subsequent seasons, and handles the team's surveillance duties on his own. * Season 3 has by far the most episodes of any season featuring popular supporting character Izzy Moreno. * Michael Mann also largely leaves the production to work on his new show Crime Story, as well as his film Manhunter, which features a large number of Vice guest stars including Crime Story star Dennis Farina. * This season is the longest in the series, airing 24 episodes (all other Seasons aired 22 episodes, with the exception of Season 5, which aired 17 episodes during its original run and 4 more after). Music :See: Season 3 Music Episodes Category:Miami Vice Season 3 Episodes